American in Spain

The John Williams Effect

October 29, 2009

thumbIt's weird, the songs we sing to our children. When a song is needed to get a baby through a stressful time or maneuver, the parent often doesn't have time to specifically choose a song for the occasion, the brain is just told to sing, and sing it does.

Recently my brain and I been going through a John Williams phase. I love John Williams' music. If Beethoven or Bach or the Strauss boys were alive today they'd be scoring movies, too. Different songs come out of me at different times depending on the current parenting operation. When I have to flip her onto her stomach as part of a donning or doffing, the Superman theme comes out as she naturally resembles a flying prone human. ytaudio(ehmFl1sjkXg) If I'm preparing to perform a task she dislikes, like cleaning her nostrils with a Q-tip, the ominous Imperial March surfaces. ytaudio(8VwkyrTb6go) But by far the most common song is the "getting ready for adventure!" theme, that of the Indiana Jones movies. That's used mainly for getting strapped into either the car seat or the stroller.